Levys again ask Condit to talk to investigators

MODESTO, California (CNN) --A day after voters decided to toss embattled Rep. Gary Condit out of office, the parents of missing former Washington intern Chandra Levy made a new plea for Condit to cooperate in their investigation of their daughter's disappearance.

"Mr. Condit has made pledges and promises for a long time -- before the campaign and during the campaign -- that he would do anything he could to help the investigators," Robert Levy said to reporters outside the family's home Wednesday. "We just ask that he keep his word and keep his pledge that he will cooperate completely and talk to our investigators and help them find our daughter."

The Levys said they want Condit to meet with private investigators they have hired to find their daughter. Neither Levy nor his wife, Susan, commented directly on Condit's loss to state Assemblyman Dennis Cardoza in Tuesday's Democratic primary for the 18th Congressional District seat.

"We are not involved in this campaign. We are parents, and our only concern is about finding our daughter," Susan Levy said.

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U.S. Rep. Gary Condit lost an election for the first time in 30 years in the California Democratic Party primary. CNN's Frank Buckley reports (March 6)

Chandra Levy, 24, was last seen in Washington on April 30, shortly after completing an internship with the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

While Condit, 53, has refused to publicly discuss his relationship with her, police sources said the married congressman and grandfather admitted to an affair with the young woman during an interview with investigators.

Police never have described Condit or anyone else as a suspect in the case. Despite an intense search in the Washington area last summer, Levy has not been found.

While Condit has insisted that he cooperated fully with investigators looking into Levy's disappearance, her parents have charged that he impeded the investigation by initially holding back details about the relationship.

Condit, a former mayor, county supervisor and state assemblyman, has served in Congress since 1989 and carried 67 percent of the vote in the 2000 general election. But his political fortunes dimmed quickly amid his association with the Levy case, and Tuesday he managed to carry less than 38 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary, compared with 55 percent for Cardoza.

Cardoza will now face Republican state Sen. Dick Monteith in the general election. Monteith won more than 60 percent of the vote in the GOP primary against three other candidates.